Rozhdestvensky graduated in 1894 and went to study at St. Petersburg. He worked in Giessen with Paul Drude from 1901 to 1903 before returning to St. Petersburg. He was involved in establishing optics research. He received a Mendeleev Medal in 1912. He became a professor of physics in 1916. He developed theories to explain atomic spectra. He is buried in the Literatorskie mostki (writers' footways) section of the Volkovo Cemetery in St. Petersburg.[2]